Backboard and hoop toy



o 1951 c. s. REDDING BACKBOARD AND HOOP TOY Filed June 13, 1.949

INVENTOR.

lated stitches 4 to resemble a basketball.

Patented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BACKBOARD AND HOOP TOYCharles S. Bedding, Louisville, Ky.

Application June 13, 1949, Serial No. 98,791

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a toy for simulatin the game of basketball.

The object of this invention is to provide a toy in which a ball may bebanked on a backboard and through a hoop similar to the way a regularbasketball is banked through the basket.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a toy in smallform so that it may be operated by a small child or any other person, atthe same time retaining the principle of banking the ball through thehoop in the same manner as in the game of basketball.

A still further object of this invention is to provide such a toy inwhich after the ball is banked through the hoop once the operation maybe repeated without having to lift the ball back through the hoop andwithout tangling the string.

In accordance with the present invention, the toy comprises a miniaturebackboard with. a handle for holding it, a hoop attached to thebackboard and a captive ball.

The invention will be described in greater detail in connection with theaccompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of theinvention and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete t y,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail of the hoop, likewise in perspective.

Referring to the drawings, the toy comprises a backboard I made of wood,plastic or similar material, substantially square in shape, having ahandle 2 securely attached to the backboard by any normal fasteningdevice such as a screw or rivet l3. If it is so desired, the handle maybe shaped from the same piece as the backboard. A ball 1 made of rubber,plastic or similar resilient material is attached to the backboard by astring 5 attached to a small nail or tack 6. This nail or tack 6 ispreferably attached at one corner of the backboard so that the stringwill not interfere with the operation of the toy by coming between theball and the backboard and deflecting its bounce. The ball may be aplain round ball or it may be marked by moulding or painting with simu-Attached to the front or playing surface of the board is a hoop 3, theplane of the hoop being perpendicular to the backboard as shownin'Figure 1, and the rim of the hoop being spaced outwardly from thebackboard by means of a leg 9. The hoop is attached to the backboard andheld securely in position, so that it will not rotate or bend, by meansof staples l2. A portion of the leg 8 bent at an angle to the otherportion of the leg 9 of the hoop provides a secure means of attachment.The staples I2 also aid in attaching the handle 2 to the backboard I.

This hoop may be made from one single piece of wire as is clearly shownin Figure 2. An important feature of the toy is the gap Ii in the hoop3. After the ball 1 has been dropped or banked through the hoop, thestring 5 is disentangled from the hoop 3 by tilting the toy forward andletting the weight of the ball pull the string free through the gap II.This prevents tangling the string about the hoop or making it necessaryto retrieve the ball through the hoop after each successful play.

In operation, the handle 2 is grasped in one hand and by a forward andupward rotary motion the ball 4 is caused to swing in an are at the endof the string 5. Near the upper end of the rotary sweeping motion, thehand is thrown back thus throwing the ball toward the backboard l. Theobject is to cause the ball to strike the backboard slightly above thehoop 3 and at such an angle thatit will bounce or bank downward throughthe hoop, thus making a score.

It is understood that although I have shown a preferred embodiment of myinvention certain modifications may be made therein without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

A toy of the type comprising a paddle, a hoop and a captive ball,wherein: the paddle has a lower handle portion and an upper rectangular,imperforate portion without obstructions except the hoop; the hoop isformed with a gap in its periphery to permit a string to pass through,and is attached to the paddle so that it is perpendicular to and belowthe center of the rectangular portion; and the ball is attached to onecorner of the rectangular portion of the paddle.

CHARLES S. BEDDING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,077,027 Austin Oct. 28, 19131,228,575 Lynch June 5, 1917 1,508,147 Vinal Sept. 9, 1924 2,042,984Fritz June 2, 1936 2,243,019 Singer May 20, 1941 2,382,513 Singer Aug.14, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 721,093 France Feb. 27, 193

